Nightmares
by Kijo-sama
Summary: When Sanji keeps having nightmares, only one person can help him. Who is it?
1. Nightmares

Title: Nightmares

Paring s :Sanji, Zoro friendship fic

Rating: R for use of wording

Word Count: 2,298

Timeline: Independent

POV: Sanji

Disclaimers: I do not own One Piece no matter how much I wish I did.

Comments: I actually wrote this for a Creative Writing Project I had to do. I liked the way it turned out and hope you do too. Please comment, flames will be laughed at and thrown in the trash. Enjoy your read!

It's been the same thing for the past three weeks. I wake up to the sound of screams, only to find out their my own. These dreams can't keep coming to me like this, or I'll die of sleep deprivation. I pull out my pocket watch and see that it's only four thirty. Well, at least everyone will have a big breakfast. I've been up for the past half hour cooking and I haven't stopped yet. I've set out the table, placed everything where it's suppose to be and I'm still cooking. I stop what I'm doing when I hear the galley door swing open and see Zoro standing there, still half asleep, but his hand still rests on the hilt of his swords.

"Oh…it's only you…for a minute there I thought I had to worry." he mumbled to me, and sat down at the table only after getting a glass of water.

"Yeah it's only me, and keep your feet off of the table, kuso buishido!" I smacked his feet off the table with my spatula. I rinsed off my spatula and then started cooking again. It was too early for someone else to be up, I had hoped that I could spend some time by myself. I sighed, stirring some broth into the dumplings I was steaming. Damn marimo-head, I didn't want to have to deal with him.

"Have another nightmare? Or do you just want to have a feast laid out for your precious Nami-san?" Zoro had placed his feet back up on the table and was looking at me, I could tell, even though I was cooking over the stove and facing away from him.

"None of your damned business seaweed-head." I didn't look back to him, I didn't feel like I had to respond at all but I just wanted him to shut up. "Why don't you just get out of my kitchen, if you can't see, I'm cooking here."

"Hn." was the only response I got from him as he got up, placed his glass in the sink, and left the galley. I could hear the weights being moved and I knew he had started working out again, like he did every morning before breakfast was ready. I sighed again, having to deal with his noise was bad enough during the day, let alone during the early morning.

When I finally finished cooking, it was six thirty and there was about an hour and a half left before everyone else got up for breakfast. I sat down at the table and laid my head down in my folded arms. I was exhausted. I barley had enough energy to breath, let alone do anything else. I closed my eyes, and let the darkness take me away.

I awoke suddenly, being roused from sleep with another fit of screams, mine again. I looked around but I wasn't in the galley, I was in the men's bunk-room. Hadn't I fallen asleep in the galley? …on the table wasn't it? I couldn't of been out for very long, but when I looked at my watch and saw that it was quarter to eleven, I was shocked I had slept so long. And it was almost time for lunch, I had to get up and start cooking. Just as I was about to get up and go back to the galley I was stopped, surprisingly, by Zoro.

"…the hell, get outta the way lettuce-head, I gotta go make lunch for the others." I tried to push past him but he stood infront of me so I couldn't pass by.

"I don't think so cook, captains orders. You kneed some rest and I'm here to make sure you get it. Got it?" he glared at me with a smirk on his face. I huffed, like he really could stop me.

"I don't care what you say, I'm going to cook, now move it." but he still didn't move, and I was really getting pissed off. I aimed a kick at his head but he just grabbed my ankle and held it. "Damnit, let go of me!" I tried to spin out of his grip but it was tight and I couldn't loosen it. He started pushing me back and all I could do was hop backwards to stop myself from falling, and he pushed me right onto the couch and finally let me go when I was sitting down. Then, for all his nerve, he threw a blanket over my head.

"Now go to sleep…" he sat down on the floor infront of me and stared at me. I lightly growled at him, glairing, but I still laid down on the couch and covered myself up with the blanket, turning to the inside of the couch so I wouldn't have to deal with Zoro. I didn't even realize how quickly I fell asleep.

I was having another nightmare. It was the same as all the others. I was running, it was dark, and I was soaked. I could hear the voices yelling at me. Screaming 'Your fault! They're gone! It's all your fault! You shouldn't of left! You'll never reach All Blue! You'll die trying! Die!' The voices faded and I stopped running. I was standing in a spot light and my nakama were surrounding me. Usopp was always the first to speak,

"Bastard…you killed us…you…killed us all." and he disappeared. Next was Luffy.

"Sanji…you let us die…right infront of you…I hate you…I hate you!" and he also disappeared. Then Nami,

"Sanji-kun…why? How could you do this to me? Let this happen?" and she was gone. Finally it was Zoro's turn to speak.

"Thanks a lot cook…now I can never reach my goal to be the best…you didn't just let the crew down, but all of the people who were counting on us. You don't deserve to be called the best chef in the world…you don't deserve to be called the best anything in the world…what you do deserve is to come with us…bastard…living in spite of us all. The only reason why you're still alive…is because you have to live with our memory…" as always, I was shocked to see tears running down Zoro's face, and as he began to speak again, he was choking on his own voice. "Please…please live…for us." And finally, like all the other's, Zoro disappeared.

And the last part, before I woke up, I was engulfed in blue flames, and they hurt more then a stove ever could. I sat up right, panting and sweating lightly, having just screamed myself awake. I was out of breath and for the time being, I had forgotten that Zoro was still sitting on the floor, right next to me. My vision was blurred as I sat up, only looking down at my knees.

"Oi, you ok?" I jumped at Zoro's voice, I had completely forgotten about him.

"Holly hell! God damnit you scared the shit outta me!" I was clutching my chest over my heart, still panting. Zoro was kneeling next to me, and he looked worried, which shocked me.

"Are you ok Sanji?" He said my name? That was really weird. I swallowed the lump in my throat and answered.

"Yeah…I'm fine…why do you ask?" Besides me waking up screaming…

"Do you mean besides you waking up screaming? Well, you were mumbling in

your sleep and you said my name…quite a few times." I hadn't realized I had been talking in my sleep. I blushed and looked away from him.

"Yeah…well it should be no concern of yours what I say in my sleep." I mumbled back, trying to keep as much of my cool as possible.

"Well sorry if I think it concerns me if you say my name five times in a row and sounding like you're gunna cry." He looked away, huffing. That bastard…

"You bastard…should of left me alone." I knew I was blushing, I could feel my face heat up. I was still looking down at my knees, trying my best not to let Zoro see I was blushing. I inwardly cursed at myself for dreaming this same damned nightmare again.

"Oi, cook…they made some food for you." Zoro spoke with little thought, and pointed to a tray with a bowl of rice, some crackers and tea sitting on the floor next to the make-shift bed. I looked down at the food sitting next to me and thought I might as well eat something. I picked up the tray and placed it in my lap. The tea was cooled so it must have been sitting there for a while.

I ate my food quickly and downed the tea in two swallows. After I finished I placed the tray back on the floor. I glanced over at Zoro and he was still staring at me and I shivered under his gaze. The bastard had the nerve to treat me like a child. I glared over at him and yelled,

"What the fuck are you staring at?" my teeth were bared in anger and my eyebrow just barely twitched with the tension. He just looked at me with the same glare he had been for the entire time I'd been awake.

"I'm worried about you." I looked back over to Zoro and was shocked to hear those words come from his mouth. Roronoa Zoro…worried about me? This had to be a dream, but when I looked at him again, his head was facing downward and it almost looked as if he was about to cry.

"There's no need to worry about me, I'm a big boy and can take care of myself alright." I crossed my arms over my chest and looked away. There had to be some reason he was acting this way…maybe he was sick and his head was screwed up more than it usually is. "You're not sick, are ya marimo?" I pushed my hand against his forehead but he felt cool…cooler than I did.

"I'm not the one with a fever dumb-ass." he pushed my hand away and put his against my forehead. "Damn you've gotten warmer." So I was having nightmares and I was sick too? Well isn't that just perfect! I blushed and looked down. Damn it to hell, I wasn't going to stand this.

"Why don't you just left me go and cook so everyone gets fed." I tried to stand up but as soon as I reached my feet, the room began to spin and everything got blurry. I stumbled backward till my knees buckled and I landed on the couch again. He was by my side in an instant, his hand against my forehead.

"You didn't hurt yourself did you?" he pulled his hand away from my face and put it against his own. I could hardly keep my eyes open but I felt the sweat trickling down the back of my neck. My blond hair stuck to my forehead and covered my left eye and I blinked a few times, trying to get my vision to keep still for a moment. Zoro's hand was back against my forehead and then moved to my shoulder. He pushed against me and I was too weak to fight back so I let him push me down so I was laying on the couch. I distantly felt a blanket going back over me, being pulled up over my shoulders as I fell back into a restless sleep.

I woke up slowly, groggily looking out of my half lidded eyes and I felt a damp cloth on my forehead. I groaned loudly, sitting up so the cloth fell to my lap.

"You're awake…" I looked over to the where the voice came from to see a pair of green eyes looking at me.

"Z-Zoro?" I stuttered out. My vision was blurry and everything keep moving around the room like I was on a tilt-a-whirl. I blinked hazily, trying to stop the spinning when I was pushed back to a laying position on the couch.

"Don't worry Sanji…I'm here to take care of you…you've nothing to fear." the voice of my crew mate drifted as my eyes closed again. I was falling back to sleep before I knew it.

I woke up quickly, bolting up into a sitting position. I had had the nightmare again. It was so stupid! I shouldn't be dreaming this stupid nightmare over and over again! I growled at myself in frustration. All of the sudden I heard a yawn next to me and I looked over to see who it was. Zoro sat up from where he was sleeping on the floor.

"You feeling better?" he yawned out, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"Yeah…I'm fine." I did in fact feel better then when I was last awake. The room was no longer spinning and I could see clearly instead of the odd haze I had been looking at before. I placed my hand against my face and I was cool again. Looking down at Zoro I smiled. "Thanks Zoro." He just smiled back at me slightly, pearly white teeth shining past pale lips. When had we become so close to each other that we could make each other smile? We never use to be this way. I suppose that we've grown closer as a nakama and tighter as friends. I smiled and rested back against the couch. I felt a hand on my shoulder.

"You sure you're okay?" Zoro was now sitting next to me on the couch, his hand resting against me in a reassuring fashion. I just smiled at him again.

"I'm fine…thanks for being here for me." I was glad he was there…I really was. After that night, my nightmares stopped. I guess all I needed…was a friend.


	2. Rough Draft Nightmares

Title: Nightmares

Word Count: 1,871

Paring: Sanji/Zoro

Rating: PG 14

POV: Sanji

Disclaimers: I do not own One Piece no matter how much I wish I did.

Comments: I actually wrote this for a Creative Writing Project I had to do. I liked the way it turned out and hope you do too. This is the rough draft to the chapter I wrote previously, so I hope you like it. I know there may be some mistakes but that's okay! That's why it was a rough draft! Please comment, flames will be laughed at and thrown in the trash. Enjoy your read!

I didn't like him too much. He was one of those guy that you only barely trusted but they seemed to trust you completely. Even though I may not of liked him, couldn't mean I couldn't watch him. He sat on the deck, his short green hair lightly blown back from his face. He always did this, always stayed out on deck, that white, form fitting tee-shirt of his clinging to his body after a hard, sweat educed workout. Those three golden earrings that pierced into his left ear always chimed together with the slight breeze and shown brightly in the mid day sun. If it was so hot out, then why did he always wear those black pants and those black boots? He never seemed to change his wardrobe. Then again, neither did I. Always the same thing, a blue dress shirt, black slacks, and a black jacket with a matching tie. Why did I constantly wear a suite? Only the God's know that answer. I sighed deeply, concentrating back on him. I could see him clearly throughout the window over the sink. Zoro would never know how much he caught my attention. He was handsome, I had to admit. Bronzed skin pulled tightly over firm muscle. Broad shoulders that gave him a defined pose. A glare that could send shivers down anyone's spine, but a smile that could warm up the coldest of hearts.

"And to think…that rat bastard's younger then me." I smirked at myself, lightly shaking my head. "Come on Sanji, you've got to stop getting so distracted." I scolded myself, I needed to get back to work. I continued to chop up the vegetables set in front of me. Had I forgotten to mention that I was the head chef on the ship I was them sailing on? I suppose I did, and also, Zoro was the first mate. I smiled, he was younger then I was and he had a higher rank then me too. I bitterly laughed at myself. I set the vegetables off to the side, going to fix up a small dish of sliced meats. It was too damn hot outside to use the stove or the oven so I didn't. I finished my chores quickly and then made a small dip for the vegetables. I finished within record time and decided to go lay down for a bit of a nap before dinner because I hadn't been getting a lot of sleep in the past few weeks due to some damn nightmares that I'd been having.

I jumped down the stares to the men's bunkroom and seeing as it was empty, I went over and laid down on the couch. I sighed deeply as I rested my head against the arm of the couch and curled up on one of my sides to try and get to sleep. Before I knew it, I had quickly dozed off.

I woke up at the sound of screams, amazed to find they were my own. My hand automatically went to my heart, trying hard to slow the fast beating muscle in vain. I panted heavily, trying to control my breathing, also in vain. I wiped my sleeve against my head to try and get some of the sweat out of my vision. I pushed my blond hair our of my face, the damn hair always would sit over my left eye and never seemed to want to move no matter how mush I tried to get it to stick. I cleaned my face with my sleeve and slowly laid back down on the couch, my hand going back to my racing heart. I wasn't sure what time it was, but it must have been late. Zoro was asleep next to me in one of the hammocks against the wall so I figured that dinner had passed and I'd just missed it. I shrugged slightly and turned back over onto my side, trying to go back to sleep for the night.

I tossed and turned for what seemed like hours at a time. Finally I sat up and rubbed my eyes lazily, getting out of bed and deciding I might as well go start breakfast. I slowly climbed up the stares to the kitchen, opening the overhead door with a slight shove of my hand and dragging myself into the galley. I started cooking, and didn't stop cooking. When I was cooking, I lost myself in the art of it all, all the aroma's that would pass under my nose as I cooked my food to perfection, never burning a single thing that touched the stove. Everything about it, everything about cooking, it was my life. I had grown up on the sea, wanting to be a chef and always training to become better. At the age of 19 I was known as the greatest chef on all the sea's, and now at the age of 25, I still hold that title. I was so lost in concentration that I hadn't even realized Zoro walk in the room until he tapped me on the shoulder. I jumped, scared out of my skin and almost burnt myself against the stove top.

"What the hell? Zoro! You scared the living shit out of me!" I was angry, I never was to be interrupted when I was cooking, my first rule, and he damn well knew it.

"I just thought you could use some help is all." his light blue eyes stared up at me, worry showing in his face and I bit my lower lip. Did I really need his help? I mean, I had been a bit self absorbed as of recent due to the fact that I didn't want to tell anyone about my nightmares but Zoro usually never talked to me, only when he had to like when we were defending the ship or something like that. It struck me as more then odd. I frowned and stared at him.

"What are you playing at?" my eyebrow raised towards my hairline in a questioning matter.

"Nothing…I just thought you could use some help or something." he looked distracted, not looking directly at me just somewhere off to the right of my shoulder. I gave a quick glace over my shoulder just to see that all that was there was the same old pans that always hung there. I looked back at him but he still wasn't looking at me. I sighed.

"Fine, you can wash dished if you really want to help." he just nodded and walked over to the sink as I went back to the stove. I looked at him through the corner of my eye as he washed. He took every step slowly, as if learning how to do it perfectly. He would dip a plate into the warm, soapy water and then take a damp cloth and start rubbing at it gently, making sure to get off every single stain. Then he'd take the dry cloth and get every last drop of water off before setting it in the drying rack and moving onto the next dish. I was again distracted by him that I almost burn the stir-fry I was working on. I quickly salvaged it and put it off to the side with the rest of the food I had already managed to finish. Well, I knew one thing. The crew was going to have a big breakfast.

When breakfast was finished, I went over and started washing dishes like I always did. I had gotten about half way through the stack of newly dirtied dishes when Zoro had appeared beside me, holding out a hand to take the washed dish to dry. I stared for a moment before slowly handing it to him. We cleaned in slow silence, the only thing disturbing it was before I passed every dish I would say "Zoro" to warn him another dish was done. We continued like this until the last of the dishes were finished. I smiled at him in thanks after we had finished everything and I went to clean up the rest of the galley, washing the table, cleaning off the stove, and sweeping the floor. When I turned around, I realized that all of this was already done. I looked over to Zoro and he just gave me a sheepish smile before quietly exiting the galley.

I smiled to myself. He was a nice enough guy, only a year younger then I was and he had a kind heart, even if he rarely showed it. I sat down at the table, thinking over my dreams for the past few weeks.

In my nightmares, I was running. From what was I running? I had no clue but I just kept running until I slammed into a wall I hadn't known was there. The spot light shown down on me and I was blinded for a moment as I staggered to find my way. When I finally had gotten my sight back I was standing in a small white room, an asleep looking Zoro laying in a hospital bed of some sort. I looked at the doctors standing next to his bed but they couldn't see me I supposed. The doctor with the clipboard kept speaking to his nurse and I caught what they were saying.

"There's no hope nurse, he's not going to make it." the doctor looked down, a sad expression crossing his face and the nurse burst out into tears. My eyes widened slightly as I went next to Zoro's bed. There was no way he was…that he was…no. I couldn't believe that!

"Zoro….Zoro wake up!" I grabbed his shoulders and shook him but he acted as if nothing had happened, his eyes still closed and still in a sleep like trance. I could feel the tears pricking at the back of my eyes but tried to hold them back. This couldn't be happening…he couldn't be…couldn't be gone…no…not possible.

"Wake up Zoro! Wake up!" I cried as I shook him. "No! NO!" It's then that I would wake up.

"No what?" I shook myself out of my stupor and looked over to the door where Zoro was standing, a confused look in his icy blue eyes. I rubbed at my temples, the pressure of a headache building.

"It's nothing, don't worry about it." I saw him turn to leave and stopped him. "Hey Zoro…" he turned to face me.

"Yeah Sanji?" his voice was solid and real and I smiled slightly.

"You're not going anywhere right? I mean, you're not just going to up and kick the bucket or anything like that?" he looked at me confused for a moment but just smiles slightly.

"Don't worry Sanji, I'm not going to go and die on you without any warning alright?" he smiled fully, his bright white teeth shown past his pale lips and it was contagious, and I found myself smiling too.

"Thanks Zoro." I said under my breath and he nodded before he turned back around and left the room. I smiled to myself as I laid my head in my pillowed arms back on the kitchen table. Maybe I could trust him after all.


End file.
